Judge Juan Merchan trolled after being removed from Steve Bannon's fraud trial

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Steve Bannon, the former adviser to Donald Trump, is facing a criminal fraud trial in New York. However, the judge who was originally assigned to his case, Judge Juan Merchan, has been replaced.

The reassignment comes as Bannon prepares to begin serving a prison sentence for defying a congressional subpoena in an unrelated matter. The trial's new judge, April Newbauer, has a controversial history, and Bannon's legal team is already preparing for their upcoming appearance before her.

Judge reassignment in Steve Bannon's fraud trial amid scheduling conflict

Judge Juan Merchan, who handled Donald Trump’s hush money trial, was originally designated to preside over Steve Bannon’s fraud trial. However, due to scheduling conflicts, Merchan has been reassigned.

The administrative judge for the New York County Supreme Court Criminal Term informed the involved parties of this change, stating that the reassignment would best serve the court's needs.

“The Honorable Juan M Merchan, Acting Supreme Court Justice, who is assigned to this matter, is engaged to preside over a six-defendant trial that is scheduled to commence on September 16, 2024, and expected to last at least three months,” Judge Ellen Biben wrote in the email.

This overlap made it impractical for Merchan to continue with Bannon’s trial. Consequently, the case was reassigned to Judge April Newbauer, CNN reported.

Judge April Newbauer has made headlines previously for her judicial decisions. One notable incident involved setting bail at $5,000 for a man charged with assault and attempted burglary, significantly less than what prosecutors had requested.

After being released on bail, the man was later charged with killing the woman he had assaulted, her friend, and her dog, per the Washington Examiner.

Bannon’s legal team was informed of the judge reassignment on Friday, and they now face a court appearance before Newbauer on July 23. By that time, Bannon will likely be several weeks into his sentence at a low-security federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, unless the Supreme Court intervenes.

Steve Bannon’s legal troubles stem from accusations of defrauding donors through a fundraising campaign titled 'We Build the Wall.' This initiative aimed to raise funds for constructing a border wall between the United States and Mexico.

In 2022, Bannon pleaded not guilty to state charges, including money laundering, conspiracy, and fraud.

These state charges mirror the federal charges brought against Bannon in 2020, where he was accused of defrauding donors of more than $15 million. Although Bannon received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump for the federal charges, this pardon does not extend to state investigations.

Judge Merchan trolled on social media

The reassignment of Judge Merchan has sparked reactions on social media, particularly among MAGA supporters.

"They must have finally revoked Judge Merchan's judge license," one posted on X.

"Merchan's activity over the last few months implies that he is under some type of undue influence? No judge would behave so bizarrely to suppress exculpatory evidence and to promote what looks like FAKE evidence to violate civil rights and due process?" another wondered.

"Merchan has been found out!!" someone else alleged.

"Good, now we need to drop charges," another insisted. 

GOP support for Steve Bannon

In a related development, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) has announced his intention to file a legal brief supporting Steve Bannon’s emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

Bannon is appealing his order to report to prison by July 1 for defying a congressional subpoena related to the investigation of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, consisting of House leaders, voted along party lines to proceed with an amicus brief in Bannon’s favor, The Hill reported.

Johnson publicly disclosed his plans during interviews with Fox News and CNN, arguing that the January 6 committee was improperly constituted and that its work was “tainted.”

“We’re working on filing an amicus brief in his appellate work there in his case because the Jan. 6 committee was, we think, wrongfully constituted,” Johnson told Fox News’s Sean Hannity. “We think the work was tainted. We think that they may have very well covered up evidence and maybe even more nefarious activities.”

“We’ve been investigating the committee itself; we disagree with how Speaker Pelosi put all that together; we think it violated House rules,” he added. “And so we’ll be expressing that to the court, and I think it will help Steve Bannon in his appeal."

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